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Man arrested for starting fire at Norton house as woman slept inside

NORTON, Mass. — Police have arrested a man accused of setting a house in Norton on fire while an elderly woman slept inside, according to Norton Police.

Norton police detectives and troopers from the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) arrested Brian E. Chase, 46, in Fall River Thursday.

A Bristol County grand jury recently indicted Chase on arson-related charges stemming from two fires on Mansfield Avenue in Norton on March 26, 2017.

In one of the fires, firefighters had to rescue a woman from her burning home. The woman didn’t know her house was on fire. The fire started outside on the deck. The house was inhabitable and the Red Cross helped the woman find temporary housing at a hotel in Foxboro.

A recycling bin across the street from the house was also set on fire an hour earlier.

Investigators ruled the fires suspicious.

Chase is being held pending his arraignment in Bristol County Superior Court.